


Home Is With You

by MarzgaPerez



Series: Worthy [2]
Category: Freier Fall | Free Fall (2013)
Genre: Birthday Cake, Canon Gay Relationship, Domestic Bliss, Fatherhood, Fußball, M/M, Milestones, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-04-29 20:42:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5141843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarzgaPerez/pseuds/MarzgaPerez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few years have passed, and Marc and Kay are living together and helping raise Marc's son. It's his son's fifth birthday, and there's a lot to celebrate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kay surveyed the room and nodded approvingly to himself. Marc had worked three nights in a row, so Kay had promised to get most everything ready for the party. Rodrick was turning five, and Bettina had agreed to let them host the family party. She seemed more willing to share Rody lately as she and her husband now had a three month old.

For Kay, there was something symbolic about Rodrick’s birthday. It reminded him of the time that he and Marc first fell in love – even though Marc didn’t realize it until later and he had put Kay through hell. And though their relationship had been challenged over the years, they were still very much in love.

Kay glanced at the clock and noticed that it was almost one o'clock. Marc had asked Kay to get him up by noon. He quickly finished washing the last of the dishes and made his way towards the back of the house. Pausing in front of Rodrick’s room, Kay kicked a small soccer ball out of his path before going to Marc.

“ _Marc. Wach auf_.”

Kay was leaning over Marc, and when he didn’t respond to his whisper, Kay jumped on him, startling Marc. He tried to push Kay away, but Kay anticipated this reaction and pressed down on him with his full body weight.

“I let you sleep way past noon. Get up. You have work to do. I went for a jog this morning, and there’s still cleaning to finish.” Kay nudged at Marc’s side with his face, biting into one of his exposed arms and then moving his lips over to Marc’s shoulder and neck.

Marc swatted at him and rubbed his eyes. “C’mon, Kay. You said you had it covered.” He tried to roll over onto his side, but Kay still had him pinned. Marc sighed, as if admitting defeat, but before Kay realized what was happening, Marc had flipped him over the side of the bed.

Kay cursed him under his breath. They both laughed as Marc sprang out of bed and ran towards the front of the house. Kay caught up to him and noticed that Marc was standing motionless in the middle of the main room.

“What is it?”

“Kay, this looks really nice.”

Marc was admiring how clean the room as well as all of the party decorations – red and blue balloons and streamers, pennant banners with soccer balls, and a table cloth that resembled a soccer field. Marc walked over to the table to look at the cake, which was the shape of a red and blue soccer jersey with the insignia of Rody’s favorite team, _FC Bayern München_. Well, it was their favorite soccer team and thus, Rody’s by default since they had taken him to a few games.

“Did you do all of this?”

“I had a little help from your mom. She’ll do anything for her grandson…even spend a few hours with me.”

“Thanks, Kay.” Marc turned to Kay and pulled him close, holding him for a minute while Kay returned his embrace. Marc looked warmly into his eyes and placed his hands on the sides of Kay’s face, moving his lips to meet Kay’s. 

“Marc, I was happy to do this for you and Rody." He smiled. "Now go get ready for the party.”

“Yeah, I guess I should.” Marc chuckled and kissed Kay softly once more before heading to the bathroom to grab a shower.


	2. Chapter 2

Kay was watching television and drinking a beer when the doorbell rang. “Marc, hurry up. Someone’s here.” Marc mumbled something from the bedroom.

Kay slowly got up and went to open the door. It was Bettina, and she was wearing a turquoise wrap with her baby nestled in the folds of the cloth. She was also carrying a few bags with brightly wrapped boxes poking out of the top. Kay greeted her and reached out to the take the bags from her.

“Oh. Thanks, Kay.”

“Come in. How’s the baby?”

“She’s quiet for now. Still not sleeping through the night. Rodrick was a much better sleeper. ”

“Where is he?”

“Still in the car. Feeling a little shy, I think. Might need a little coaxing.”

“What about Karl?”

“He’ll be along soon. I asked him to pick up some candles, just in case you needed some.”

“Good idea. That is the probably the one thing we don’t have.”

Bettina had stepped inside and was eyeing the room. She was being overly polite as usual but seemed impressed. “Nice job on the decorations. Rody will love this. Where’s Marc?”

“He’s in the bedroom, still getting ready. Do you want some coffee?”

“No, I’ll wait until later. Do you mind if I speak to him privately?”

“No, not at all. I’ll go talk to Rody. See if I convince him to come inside.”

Bettina headed towards the back of the house, and Kay placed the bags of gifts in front of the fire place. He stepped outside and shielded his eyes from the sun. It was a warm day but very pleasant. He had set up some soccer nets in the backyard. 

Kay could see Rody in the backseat of Bettina’s car, flipping through the pages of a storybook. Rody must have spotted him because he lowered his face into the book and was giggling.

“I was just looking for someone to read me a story. That one looks pretty interesting.” Kay put his hand through the open window and patted the little boy on top of his sandy, shaggy hair.

“Kay. You're silly. I can’t read yet.”

“As many times as we’ve looked at that book, I bet you could tell me the whole story. Are you ready to come inside and see your birthday cake?”

“Did my daddy make it?”

“No, we got it at the bakery – the one with the wolf on the sign. C’mon, let's go play in the backyard. You're the first one here.”

“Okay. But can I have a snack first?”

“Sure.” Kay opened the car door as Rody unhooked his seat belt and leaped to the ground. Kay bent down to give Rody a hug. “Happy Birthday, buddy.” He motioned for Rody to climb on his shoulders, and he walked them to the front door, stooping down to clear the door frame, and stepped inside.

He noticed that Marc and Bettina were seated at the kitchen table, deep in conversation.

“Another year, and you’ll be too heavy for me to carry.” Kay plopped down on the sofa as Rody jumped off of his shoulders and looked excitedly around the room at the bright decorations. He didn’t seem reserved any longer as he started to swat at the balloons and nearly tripped over the rug.

“Careful.” Marc spoke with some sternness but then went to give Rody a hug and patted him on the back. He and Bettina had joined them in the main room, and the baby was fast asleep against her mother.

“Come take a look at this cake.”

“I know. Kay told me about it. Can we eat it? What flavor is it? How did they get those stripes on there? Can the baby have a piece? Will there be enough for everyone?”

Marc scooped him up and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re asking a lot of questions.”

“I can’t help it - they’re coming out of my tummy.” Everyone laughed, and Kay took Rody from Marc and led him to the kitchen to find a snack while they waited for the other guests to arrive.


	3. Chapter 3

After everyone sang the birthday song to Rody and they had cut into the cake, several of the guests decided to stay over for dinner. Kay ran to the store and picked up some brats and steaks, and Marc was at the grill, enjoying the sights around him. Kay and Frank were kicking the soccer ball around with Rody and Britt’s little girl. Bettina and Claudia were catching up and drinking wine as Britt happily rocked Bettina’s baby. Marc saw Britt wink at her husband and wondered if she was already expecting a second child or perhaps ready for another. Karl and Marc had been chatting about an old friend of theirs, but then Karl had gone inside to get another drink, leaving Marc to his thoughts. He turned his attention back to Kay and watched him sprinting around the yard. Kay was still in really good shape, and Marc loved to see his bright smile and beautiful blue eyes, especially the way they lit up when he was with Rody, who just adored him.  

Marc almost couldn’t believe how fortunate he was to have these people in his life – and some of them back in his life – after a few years of adjusting to the choice he had made to be with Kay. Actually, Kay had decided to forgive him and trust that he was serious about being together and making it work. Marc was able to find stability, comfort, and satisfaction in their union, and he appreciated Kay’s willingness to help him raise Rody. After Bettina began seeing Karl, a mutual friend of theirs from university, she seemed to find happiness again. Karl, who could have thrown Marc under the bus after his betrayal, to his credit, really encouraged Bettina to accept Marc and Kay for her own peace of mind and for Rody’s sake.

It was Marc’s mom who had been the last to come around. She initially felt like Kay was some sort of predator who had brainwashed her son and ruined his life. He never fully understood her disdain towards Kay, but then he realized she mostly hated the idea of someone interfering with the life she thought he deserved.  

Kay noticed that Marc was staring off into the distance and jogged over to him. “Marc. Those could use a flip, don’t you think?”

“Ha, thanks. I guess I was distracted, thinking about my mom, for one.”

“Where is she?”

“Inside. With my dad.”

“I’ll go check on them.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, Marc. What did Bettina want earlier? When she first got here?”    

“She brought some paper work over for Rody’s school. And she wanted to work out a payment plan. Everything’s due tomorrow, and of course, she waited until the last minute.”

“So everything’s fine? Did you ask her about changing up the schedule with Rody?”

“Not yet. Let’s give it a few more weeks. See how he does in school.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be back out in a minute.”

Marc and Kay had been talking about setting up a more structured visitation schedule for Rody – maybe a joint custody situation where Rody could spend every other week with them, instead of a few weekends a month and an occasional afternoon or weeknight. They hoped that Bettina would consider their idea, but they knew it would mean more change for Rody.

Marc called out to everyone. “It’s ready!” As people clamored over to the grill, Marc passed the platter around, and he made sure that Rody had something to eat after all that cake. Marc noticed that Kay and his parents hadn’t emerged yet from inside, so he went to check on them.

He stopped short before he came upon them, and a lump formed in his throat. He had a flashback to almost five years before when he had walked in on his parents and Kay engaged in a heated discussion. This didn’t look heated, but it did look serious. Kay saw him out of the corner of his eye and cleared his throat. His parents turned around, realizing that Marc was nearby.

“Marc. Is dinner ready?” Marc’s mother turned off the television.

“Yes. What’s going on in here?”

Kay rose from the chair and clapped his hands. “Nothing special. Your folks were just telling me about your fifth birthday party. Apparently, there was a pony involved.” Kay poked Marc in his side and smiled as he passed by him to go through the kitchen and then outside with the others.

His parents got up to follow, but Marc stood in the way. “Seriously, is everything okay?”

Marc’s father put his hands on his shoulders as his mother stood beside him.

“Son, everything’s fine. Stop worrying.”

“Mom?”

“Marc, you’ve made it work for Rody. We support you.”

Tears were welling up in Marc’s eyes, and he drew in a deep breath. He had been emotional all day, and he was relieved to hear that his parents were still supportive of his relationship with Kay.

“Thanks. I really don’t know what I would have done without you. I know I disappointed you, but I hope that you’re proud of me for being who I am, even if it’s not what you imagined.”

Marc’s mom and dad put their arms around him, and he hugged them back. Before going back outside, Marc splashed some water on his face as he didn’t want Rody to know he had been crying.  


	4. Chapter 4

Marc was stretched out on the sofa with a beer in hand. He was watching something and paused it when he heard Kay coming down the hallway. Marc made room for Kay next to him. “Is he asleep?”

“He only made it through the first book. I bet he’ll sleep late tomorrow.”

“I think he enjoyed the party.”

“Definitely. Everyone did. What are you watching?”

“Frank and Claudia made a compilation of Rody moments. They gave Bettina a copy too.”

“Start it over.”

“Kay, there’s stuff on here from when Bettina was pregnant.”

“I think I can handle it.”

“Yeah, I know. I just – ”

Kay leaned over and kissed Marc. “C’mon. Let’s watch.” Kay grabbed the beer from Marc’s hand and took a swig. Marc started the DVD over and moved closer to Kay, resting his head against Kay’s chest.

First, there were scenes of Bettina and Marc when they moved in together, saying hello to Rody in utero, followed by Bettina at the start of her labor and then scenes after Rody’s birth when the family met him in the hospital and held him for the first time.

“Why haven’t I seen this before? You look nervous and excited at the same time.”

“I’d forgotten about these.” Marc smiled, thinking about how excited he had been to become a father. And then he remembered how torn he was at that time between committing to his family and falling in love with Kay.

The next scenes were filmed at the celebration for Bettina, Marc, and Rody, where Kay had made an unwanted appearance. Bettina had invited him, unaware of the affair going on between Marc and Kay.

“I’m not in this one, am I?”

“No, I think you were mostly sequestered in the house, arguing with my parents. I had to ask you to leave.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“I was just thinking about that today.” Marc took Kay’s hand and held it against his cheek for a moment, and then brushed his lips over the back of Kay’s fingers. They were both quiet for a few minutes, reflecting on that day and where they had finally landed.

“Marc, do you want another piece of cake?”

“Cake?” Marc laughed. Kay and his sweet tooth. “Yeah, sure. And another beer since you managed to finish mine.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

While he waited for Kay, Marc surveyed the room – the shredded wrapping paper and drooping party decorations. He figured they would clean up in the morning, maybe even get Rody to help. He thought about how happy Rody had been today and how proud he was of his son for accepting their blended family.

Because Rody had only ever known what it was like to have two sets of parents, he only started to question _why?_ when his playmates would point out his unique situation. And of course, kids always wanted to know why his dad was living with a man. Some kids said cruel things, and Marc and Kay would talk with Rody about how love and families come in many forms and how some people are accepting of that and others not so much. When other kids gave him a hard time, Rody was always unwavering in his response – more parents, moms or dads, always equals more presents.  

They knew one day that they would have to tell Rody about how Marc had betrayed Bettina. They had promised her that they would have a conversation with Rody when he was older, and Bettina decided she could live with that.

Marc hadn’t notice Kay come back into the room, holding two plates with pieces of cake.

“Marc, here you go.”

“ _Danke_.”

Marc went to lift his fork from the plate and cut into the cake when he noticed something shiny on top of the icing. He closed his eyes quickly and opened them again, and the ring was still there. He looked over at Kay, who was sitting beside him, watching him with a nervous smile.

“Well?”

“Kay. Are you sure want to do this?” He didn’t say this in an unkind or uninterested manner. He was just surprised at the gesture. They had talked about doing some formal every now and again, but neither of them seemed in any hurry to get married. Their union wouldn’t be recognized by law, but at least the department would recognize them as a couple, and they could more easily take care of each other’s affairs. But again, when they’d discussed it before, it had all seemed so technical.

“Of course. I want to recognize what we have built in front of our family and friends. I just feel like some people didn’t believe that we were going to make it. And some did, and they would like to celebrate with us. Why? Are you going to turn me down?” Kay was mostly kidding, but he hadn’t been certain about how Marc would react.

Marc put the plate on the floor in front of him and shook his head slightly in disbelief. He turned to Kay and pulled Kay’s hands into his own. They locked eyes, and Marc moved towards Kay, kissing him long and hard. He shouldn’t have been surprised that Kay would do this. He had always been the romantic one, the thoughtful one.    

“Kay. Yes, I want to marry you.” They kissed again, and Kay smiled warmly at Marc and reached over him to grab the ring from the cake. He licked the icing off and placed the ring on Marc’s hand as they both chuckled softly. Then he punched Marc lightly on the arm.

“I thought you were going to say ‘no’ for a second.”

“You caught me off guard. I didn’t see it coming.”

“I talked to your parents about it earlier today. They were okay with it, I think.”

“Shit, that’s what you were talking to them about? I was worried they were giving you a hard time about something.”    

“No, they were fine. I’m sure your mom would prefer we do something low key, but it doesn’t matter to me. As long as me and you and Rody are there. I want him to know that I’m serious about being in both of your lives for a long, long time. I love you.”

And then Marc said the words that he couldn’t bring himself to tell Kay when they were first together but that he had now said many times over the past few years. “I love you, too.”


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years later...

"Did you text him?"

"Uh-huh. Said he'd be right out."

"Good. We don't want to be late." Kay rolled down the car window and eased back into the seat, laughing to himself. "He's probably fixing his hair."

"My dad? Well, I guess he wants to look good for you." Now it was Rody's turn to chuckle as Kay shifted in his seat and then smiled when he noticed Marc coming towards the car.

Marc was wearing sunglasses and his favorite leather jacket. He walked towards them slowly, as if trying to minimize the limp in his left leg. That limp was courtesy of a bullet he'd taken a few years ago, which had also landed him a desk job.

Marc always tried to appear strong for Rody. Kay could tell from the way he'd straighten his back and carry himself like he was a young man. And he still hadn't lost his unassuming swagger. The grin on Kay's face grew wider as Marc neared the car.

Rody was peering over Kay and watching Marc too, anxiously awaiting his father's response.

"Well. What do we have here?" Marc leaned into the open car window, his fingers grazing Kay's hand as he reached over to pat his son on the shoulder. "Are you driving us to the stadium?"

Rody nodded. "I got my license."

Marc smiled proudly and gave Rody a high five. "Nicely done."

Turning to Kay, Marc raised an eyebrow. "You knew about this and didn't tell me?"

Kay played along. "Hey now! I just found out when I went to pick up the kid. Besides, I think it's only fair since I taught him everything he knows."

Marc laughed and winked at Rody as Kay started to unbuckle his seat belt and gesture for Marc to take his place in the passenger seat.

But Marc was already opening the car door and climbing into the back seat. "No, Kay. Stay where you are. You can help Rody park at the stadium."

"Piece of cake."

Rody checked his mirrors, put on his signal, and slowly pulled away from the police station. There was about an hour drive ahead of them, and he was relieved it was mostly a long stretch of highway.

He could concentrate on the road and halfway listen to the playful banter between his dad and Kay. It never failed to amaze him how much they enjoyed giving each other shit and at the same time, how much they cared for one another.

Rody glanced over at Kay and noticed that his dad had woven his fingers through the gap between the top of the seat and the head rest and was lightly massaging Kay's neck.

He turned up the radio and shook his head in amusement.

Soon after Rody had turned seven, Marc and Kay had gotten married. Brief myemories from that day passed through Rody's mind. He figured it was a simple ceremony by most people's standards, held outside in a small park with a few friends and some family, followed by dinner at one of their favorite pubs. Rody's mom decided not to attend but was okay with Rody being there and serving as his dad's best man. 

He'd seen them hug before and maybe exchange a small kiss or two, but he'd never forget watching them embrace, tears steaming down their faces. And then they'd kissed, deeply and tenderly, as everyone, including Rody, applauded their union.

From best he could tell, they had been happy most of the time. They argued every now and again, just like Rody had observed with his mom and Karl, and sometimes, Kay told Marc that he was being too stern as a father.

There was one dark period. Rody couldn't help thinking back to the time that everything between Kay and his dad had been threatened. All because of that stray bullet and the crippling depression that came along with it when Marc had to go through months of physical therapy, knowing that he wouldn't be able to go back to work in the same capacity as before.

Rody remembered Kay's devotion to Marc - the days and nights in the hospital after the incident and then waiting on Marc hand and foot when he couldn't or didn't want to get out of bed. 

Ironically, it was the death of Marc's father from a heart attack that jolted Marc back into reality. He'd pulled Rody aside after the funeral to apologize for being so hard on Rody all the time about keeping his grades up and staying out of trouble.

And later that night, Rody was tossing and turning in his bed, feeling the loss of his grandfather and also relieved about his own father coming around. He had overheard Marc crying from the next room and pleading with Kay to forgive him. That he didn't deserve a second chance, especially after what had happened several years ago when he'd lost Kay before.

But Kay had simply told Marc that he'd never leave his side, no matter how big of an asshole he was being and that he wished he could have taken that bullet and for Marc to stop being so goddamn hard on himself. That was Kay for you.

"Buddy, you alright?"

Rody returned to the moment and felt his dad's hand on his shoulder. He nodded quickly. 

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good. You've been kind of quiet. Thanks for driving. You're doing great. I'm glad this worked out for the three of us to come."

"Me too, Dad. Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please consider supporting the sequel to this amazing film! 
> 
> https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/free-fall-2-freier-fall-2#/


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